Justice League: The Keybearer
by crod42
Summary: When the worlds split apart after Ansem's demise, Sora was tossed into another reality. One where people can fly, aliens exist, and the world is in constant peril. Sora must team up with a group of heroes to face these threats and ones that gather in darkness, watching and waiting.
1. Chapter 1

**READ THE DESCRIPTION FIRST! IT'S IMPORTANT!**

 **Author's Note: And now, it's time for EXPOSITION! Not too long ago, I was re-watching the Justice League cartoons on Netflix and I originally wanted to have an OC be thrown into the mix. Maybe a cyborg like…Cyborg, or a vampire/werewolf creature that's trying to contain his feral urges, but I kept coming up blank because I couldn't figure it out. Then I thought: what if Sora was in the series, and then the roots began to take hold. The result is this story.**

 **Before I actually begin the story, I think it's fair to let you know of a few things I'm going to be changing about both universes.**

 **The biggest change that I'm making is Sora and his past. I actually have plans to write a Kingdom Hearts novelization featuring all this, but that's another thing entirely. Sora is a 15 (almost 16) year old teenager, for starters. Instead of Destiny Islands, he grew up on Earth. Sora's complete past will be revealed in a later chapter. I want to at least keep a few secrets.**

 **(Please don't kill me!) The names of his friends are not Riku and Kairi. Their names are Richard and Karen, and the two happen to be siblings. Karen is Sora's girlfriend and Richard is his best friend.**

 **Donald and Goofy? I'm trying to figure out a way to incorporate them in my story, but this may end up being a Sora's alone fic.**

 **How far will I go? Probably up to the Season 2 Finale, but, as I've learned over the years, things can change.**

 **Updates for this one will be slow because my attention will still be focused on the Jedi from Earth story.**

 **There will be language and brutal violence from time to time. You won't hear any f-bombs in my story, though. Not a fan of that word.**

 **With the disclaimers out of the way, I hope you enjoy this story of mine. BTW, I'll give you one guess what name Sora will have in this universe.**

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Justice League: The Keybearer

Chapter 1: A New and Familiar World

The first thing Sora noticed when he woke was the feeling of grass and something wet beneath his back. The grass hadn't been cut and was poking him uncomfortably, prompting him to sit up quickly, opening his eyes and gasping. He groaned, trying to process his recent memories. He remembered Kingdom Hearts destroying Ansem, being forced to lock the Door to Darkness, sealing Richard and King Mickey inside, and…

 _"I'll come back to you! I promise!"_

Karen. He couldn't reach her in time when the worlds broke about. After everything he did, he was unable to get what he wanted, what he needed. True, he did help save the universe, but in the end, Richard and Karen were still separated from him. It was like Fate had the finish line in view and just before he could cross it, the line vanished into thin air.

Shaking himself out of those depressing thoughts (experience proved that it wouldn't do him good in the long run), he finally gazed at his surroundings, taking it all in. There were trees and mountains surrounding him and judging by the snow all over the place, he was most likely in the middle of winter.

"Fire magic probably kept me alive," Sora reasoned, getting to his feet and brushing the snow off his body.

He grimaced in pain, noticing that he still bore some wounds from his last battle, wounds from dark magic. He was actually worse before Ansem was destroyed, and it was thanks to Donald's healing that he was able to survive the ordeal. The scars that remained would fade, fortunately.

Suddenly, the sounds of explosions and lasers shocked him out of his thoughts.

 _Please tell me I didn't end up on a planet at war._ He inwardly begged.

Sora weighed his options carefully. He could go the other way and try to find shelter and hopefully someone who could help him with this ordeal. Or, he could go see what the problem is, help the good guys, and get involved in a conflict that did not concern him.

Heaving a sigh, Sora started off in the direction of the explosions. Might as well make his first impression a good one after all.

"I really hope these guys don't believe giant keys and magic are gifts of the Devil, or I'm in trouble," Sora mumbled to himself.

The explosions were getting louder and he could begin to feel the impacts they were having on the ground. He could also make out the sounds of aircraft zooming in the air. His pace quickened, summoning his Keyblade in the event that someone would attack him at any moment.

He wasn't wrong.

Red lasers streaked the ground behind him as he ran for his life. Sora risked a look behind him and spotted the source. It was a ship, all right, but a grotesque one at that. It was half white and half pink with two "eyes," and lasers was firing from its "mouth." Sora was wondering for a moment if the thing was an organism as opposed to a ship. Nevertheless, it had to go down.

The blasts were too big for Sora to knock aside with his Keyblade, at least in this stage of his abilities, so he settled for blasting it out of the sky with an electric attack. Said attack destroyed the right wing of the ship, making it spiral and crash into a different part of the forest.

Sora took a second to catch his breath, knowing that in these situations, there was never just one.

As predicted, several more ships soared overhead, shooting at him. The blasts instead impacted the trees, causing them to erupt into flames and to fall towards him. Sora moved out of the way of the falling trees, firing fireballs back at the assailants. Ready this time, three out of the four ships dodged the barrage, but the fourth wasn't so lucky. The fireball hit the cockpit, resulting in a fiery explosion.

 _Time to take the fight to them!_ Sora thought to himself.

Using his Wind abilities, he propelled himself up to the top of a tree, and jumped again, landing on top of the ship with a lower altitude. It tried to shake him off, but Sora dug his Keyblade into the ship, hanging on for dear life. Deciding that its comrade was worth the sacrifice, the remaining two opened fire at the ship. Sora decided to make a hasty jump towards another ship as the one he was on got destroyed. However, the other ship quickly blasted the one his was on, the force of the explosion sending him flying.

Sora tried not to panic as he fell towards the ground, but it was hard not to. He wasn't worried that the fall would kill him (he survived worse), but he was concerned about being shot out of the sky. He knew a Reflect spell would protect him, but he was quickly running out of energy. He still needed to recover from his last battle and this one was only making things worse.

Miraculously, a green shield wrapped around him, stopping his fall.

"I got you, kid," a deep voice assured.

Sora looked up to see an African-American male in a green and black suit. He had a weird symbol on his chest, making Sora believe he was some part of an organization on this planet. What stood out more than all of that was the green ring on his finger. It was the cause of the green shield around him. Whether the ring was magic or advanced technology, it could wait for another time.

"Thanks for the save," Sora replied.

"Can you still fight?" the man questioned.

Sora wondered where he heard the way the man talked before, but he brushed it off for later and answered his question. "Put me on top of a ledge. I can't fly, but I can launch range attacks."

That satisfied the man, bringing him up to the ledge and removing the shield. "Be careful."

 _If my track record is anything to go by…_ "I will."

As the mysterious, green man flew away, Sora took a moment to examine his surroundings again and his jaw dropped as a result.

Those fighters he took on weren't part of a small squadron; they were part of an invading army. He counted over 20 ships zooming around and opening fire on four people in the sky. Sora gulped, glad that he wasn't alone in this fight.

Speaking of help, he was astounded by their appearances. He already saw Green Man, so he ignored him for the time being.

The first one that caught his eye was man that had on a red cape and a blue suit with a red "S" on his chest. He thought the red speedo he had on was weird, but his powers more than made up for it. This man could throw the fighters out of the sky and could speed into and through some more without getting injured, not even a little. The man was a living tank.

Next on the list was a bald, green-skinned man that donned a blue cape. He was also wearing a speedo, this one being blue (seriously, what the heck was up with that), but like Red Man, his powers made up for his weird appearance. He could turn himself translucent, allowing the fighters to accidentally shoot each other. That was a really useful ability that Sora wished he had. _Note to self, this is the new Green Man._ _Ring Man will fit the other guy._

The last one was different from the others. For starters, she was a woman. Another thing was that she had bird-like like wings. That was awesome. She also wielded a mace that had an electric aura around the weapon and was constantly using it to bring down her enemies in quick succession. Sora hoped that he would never be on the receiving end of that thing.

After taking it all in, Sora opened fire on the nearest fighter, destroying it with another lightning attack. As expected, the fighters took notice of the teenager and came after him firing at will. While dodging the lasers, he managed to freeze one of the fighters, causing it to crash into another one. Unfortunately, the ground he stood on was starting to crumble under the attack.

"This oughta be fun," Sora stated, propelling himself into the air again and landing on the underside of a ship.

With a quick slash, he destroyed the turret and set the whole ship on fire. As it began to lose altitude, Sora heard a cry of pain nearby. It came from Bird Lady, who took a laser to the shoulder and crashed onto a ledge not too far from him. Throwing caution to the wind, he charged up his wind powers and kicked off from the ship, making it crash into another ship. He landed on yet another ship, zapped it with lightning while running, and jumped far enough to slam his Keyblade into the side of the rocky wall about 25 feet away from Bird Girl.

Instantly, he regretted this course of action. All those insane, constant, magical abilities just about drained him and here he was hanging on the side of a slope, an easy target for the fighters.

"Probably should have thought this through better," he mumbled to himself.

Before the fighters could get too close to Bird Lady, a new person entered the fray, landing right in front of Bird Lady. This one, a woman, took the cake for the strangest outfit Sora had seen tonight. She had on red top with golden armor on her chest, a golden belt, metallic bracelets on her arms, and apparently a blue swimsuit with white stars on it. In any other situation, Sora would have believed the woman to be some sort of patriotic mascot of some sort, or Miss America, given the tiara on her head.

"Allow me," the woman stated in a firm tone.

Sora wondered what her set of powers were as the ship opened fire on her. To his surprise, she used the metallic bracelets to deflect the lasers right back at the ship, causing it to erupt into flames. The speed in which she moved her arms was faster than any regular human could move.

Sora was so impressed that he almost failed to notice the destroyed ship careening down towards the two women. Quickly, he swung off the Keyblade, using his wind powers to make it to the ledge they stood on. Reaching out, he summoned his blade just in time to cast a shield around the three of them. The ship exploded on impact, but the shield held.

Sora, however, was on the verge of passing out. He exerted himself just as much as he did in the last fight, if not more, and it was catching up to him fast. But he needed to stay strong. He needed to get answers. Going unconscious was not an option.

"Thanks," Bird Lady said as Miss America knelt down to check on her. "You too, kid."

"Any time," Sora assured, panting heavily.

Miss America noticed his exhaustion and gave him a concerned look. "Are you all right, young warrior?"

"I'll live," he replied.

Once Red Man destroyed the last fighter, all the people that fought the ships decided to regroup. Miss America grabbed Sora's arm and began to fly him over to where they would be having a long chat about what transpired. Sora didn't mind that a woman was saving him (quite a few have saved him in the past), but it looked completely awkward being dragged by someone who should be auditioning as a super model. She definitely had the looks for it.

Realizing where this train of thought was beginning to head, Sora conjured up the perfect, mental image for these situations. Karen, in these moments, would be right next to him, sharpening an axe while giving him the evil eye. Worked every time.

Below him, Sora noticed a red blur speeding towards the same place they were heading towards: an area where a black ship and a black-cloaked man were waiting. Getting closer, Sora could make out pointed ears, a Bat Symbol on his chest, a muscular build, and… _Are speedos the new rage on this planet!?_

The red blur stopped, finally revealing itself to be a man in a complete red suit. He had lightning bolts on the sides of his head, a symbol of a lightning bolt on his chest, and was currently carrying a piece of the ship Batman apparently owned.

"Hey, Bats!" Fast Guy exclaimed. "I think you dropped this!"

Red Man, Miss America, and Sora landed behind him, causing Fast Guy to turn around. His eyes landed on the woman, and the teenager thought he saw hearts in his white eyes.

"Whoa!" he breathed, shoving the broken wing to Batman, who just gave him a glare he didn't see. "Where have you been all my life?"

"Themyscira," Miss America answered simply.

"Huh?" Fast Guy asked, confused.

"The home of the Amazons," Bird Lady explained as she, Green Man, and Ring Man joined them all. "I always thought it was merely legend."

"I assure you, it's as real as the ground on which we stand," she replied. "I am Diana, princess of the Amazons."

 _Explains the crown, but not the costume._ Sora thought to himself, crossing his arms.

"Pinch me, I must be dreaming," Fast Guy said.

Red Man elbowed him, shutting him up.

"Themyscira is protected by the Gods," Diana continued, "but I could not stand idly by while the rest of the world was in danger."

"It was lucky you showed up when you did," Red Man responded with a warm smile.

"No, not luck," Green Man corrected. "I telepathically summoned them…or should I say most of them?"

At last, all eyes fell upon the elephant in the room, who gulped nervously. "I guess you guys want some answers."

"A name would be a good start," Ring Man stated.

Now, Sora remembered where he heard that tone before: military.

"My name is Sora," he introduced.

"Part Japanese?" Batman deduced.

"On my mother's side." Sora paused for a moment as he took hold of the words that were just said. "Wait, how did you know that?"

"I know a lot of things," was the gruff response.

The teenager shook his head quickly. "No, I mean, how do you know about Japan period? Unless…" Horror began to fill his face as he stared off the ledge, taking a long look at his surroundings. "No, it can't be."

"Is it just me, or is the kid kind of whacked?" Fast Guy asked, not helping things.

"What planet am I on!?" Sora exclaimed on the verge of desperation.

"You're on the planet Earth," Red Man answered.

Sora just stood there, shock etched all over him. It couldn't be! This place couldn't be Earth.

He didn't even realize that he was falling to the ground until Red Man grabbed him.

"Whoa, easy!" he urged.

"Can't think," Sora replied, panting at an unhealthy rate. "Can't breathe."

"He's having a panic attack," Batman stated, starting to snap orders. "Superman, lay him against the Batwing. Flash, get some water. Now!"

"Will do, Bats," Flash, Fast Guy, responded, speeding off in a hurry.

Carefully, Superman, Red Man, put Sora in a sitting position against the Batwing.

"I could try to calm him telepathically," Green Man offered.

"He may see that as an attack, J'onn," Superman countered. "We're gonna have to do this the old-fashioned way." He turned to the hyperventilating teenager and tried to calm him down. "Easy, son. Try to take controlled breaths. In…and out."

Sora followed his directions, his breathing beginning to slow down.

Flash returned, carrying several cups of water fresh from the lake. "Had to pay for some cups. Took me a little longer than I thought."

"It's fine, Flash," Superman assured, handing a cup to the teenager. "Don't drink too fast, okay?"

Sora nodded, slowing putting water in his mouth. He honestly felt like he had been dehydrated for years, but he refused to give in to the temptation of going too fast with this one.

"I'm okay," he said once his breathing went back to normal. "It's just…what you said can't be true."

Ring Man was not liking where this was going. "And why not?"

"Because Earth was destroyed eight months ago!"

There was a collective silence that fell over the group. Flash and J'onn were shocked, Ring Man, Bird Lady, Diana, and Superman looked confused, and Batman just stared at him suspiciously.

Before any of them could fire off questions, Batman intervened. "We need to stay focused on the more pressing matter at hand. Questions on the boy can wait except for this one: how did you find us?"

"I didn't," Sora admitted, shrinking a bit under his piercing glare and holding his head from an incoming headache. "I woke in that forest not too long ago. I heard shots being fired, and I came to help out."

"His heartbeat is normal," Superman announced. "In fact, it's slowing down back to normal speeds, not speeding up."

"And I felt no ill-intent towards us," J'onn added. "Just confusion and fear."

Sora widened his eyes, realizing that J'onn was a telepath, explaining the sudden headache, and became slightly irritated. "How much did you see?"

"I only glimpsed at your emotions and your more recent memories," J'onn explained. "I apologize for the intrusion, but these are difficult times. I had to be sure you weren't a threat."

Sora sighed. "I understand. I'd probably do the same thing if I was in your place."

Flash finally interrupted. "Look, as much as I'm interested in this kid's backstory, can someone explain to me what the heck is going on here?"

All eyes faced J'onn, who was not looking forward to explaining this.

Sora wasn't surprised that J'onn was an alien, but he was surprised that he came from Mars. During the conversation, he finally figured out the others' names: Ring Man was Green Lantern, or John Stewart, Bird Lady was Hawkgirl, and Batman was…Batman. At least he got one of the names right. He had a feeling that once this was over, black and brooding would be grilling him for information.

From what he gathered, it seemed that a race of white aliens who could take the form of other people infiltrated Earth. With Superman disarming every nuclear weapon on the planet, they had the perfect opportunity to launch a global invasion force. Apparently, J'onn was the key to all of this.

"So, J'onn J'onzz, you came from Mars to warn us?" Diana reiterated.

"This is just too weird," Flash said.

"I've seen stranger things," John stated.

"So have I," Sora added.

The Martian nodded, beginning his tale. "We first encountered a thousand of your Earth years ago. It was a golden age. Our Martian civilization was at the height of its peace and prosperity. And then… _they_ arrived." While J'onn mostly spoke with a deep monotone, he seemed to darken slightly at that last part. "Where they came from, no one knew, but they were determined to make our planet their own."

Sora clenched his fists, feeling like he was listening to his own story being told back to him. He imagined the Martians being terrified and being struck down without mercy. He didn't realize that Batman was paying attention to his darkened posture.

"We Martians were peaceful people," he continued, "and the taking of any life was abhorrent to us. But we quickly learned the ways of war. For centuries, the battle raged on. Every trace of our once-great civilization was obliterated. We fought valiantly, but the invaders were parasites who fed on our psychic energy. As we grew weaker, they grew stronger. They even absorbed our shape-changing abilities.

"Finally, a small group of Martian survivors planned one, final, desperate attack. Inside their underground stronghold, we unleashed a powerful nerve gas which paralyzed them. The attack was successful, but the cost was dear. I was the only survivor, the last of my kind. I sealed up their citadel to keep them in a constant state of suspended animation. For over 500 years, I stood guard over them, but then, while I was in a hibernation cycle, astronauts from Earth unsealed the stronghold and accidentally revived the invaders."

"Wait!" Flash interrupted for a second time. "Those astronauts never said anything about finding life on Mars."

John scoffed in disgust. "Some pencil-pusher in Washington probably decided it should be classified information."

"No, that's not right!" Sora countered, getting to his feet. "From what J'onn has just said and what we all witnessed tonight, these aliens are extremely hostile. How is it that when the door opened, the astronauts survived the encounter?"

"He's got a good point," Hawkgirl admitted.

Superman's eyes widened in realization as the pieces began to fall into place. "Senator Carter. He never returned from Mars! He spoke to me about nuclear disarmament, and I played right into his hands. By disarming them, I left Earth defenseless." He sunk to his knees in shame. "I'm such a fool."

"Then do something about it," Batman stated firmly. "These aliens haven't won. Not yet."

"Speaking of which, why did they come to Earth?" Sora asked.

"With the Martians gone, the invaders had nothing left to feed upon," J'onn explained, "so they turned their sights to Earth. I narrowly escaped and came here to warn of the coming danger. While I was being held against my will, the invaders sent advance agents to disable Earth's defenses."

"That's why they disabled the Deep-Space Monitoring Network," Batman figured out, "so we couldn't detect their activities."

"We've gotta stop them before it's too late," John stated.

"It may already be too late," J'onn replied somberly.

Before anyone could respond to that, a flash lit up the sky. In the distance, dark clouds began to fill the night with lightning.

"What is that!?" Diana exclaimed.

"It's begun," J'onn answered in a foreboding tone.

Behind them, Sora was starting to shake with pent-up rage.

"What are they doing?" Hawkgirl questioned.

"The invaders are nocturnal," the Martian explained. "They want to blot out the sun so they can live in perpetual darkness."

"Friends of yours?" Flash joked.

Batman's glare would have turned the speedster to ash. "It's no joke."

Flash walked up to J'onn, confused about one thing. "What's the big problem? Can't you just whip up another batch of that nerve gas?"

He shook his head unsurprisingly. "Unfortunately, no. The gas can only be made by a rare, Martian plant. I brought a sample with me, but it was destroyed when I was captured."

That brought his enthusiasm down. "Uh, what's Plan B?"

"We'll have to take out those factories," Diana suggested.

John wasn't convinced of her credentials. "Lady, this is no job for amateurs and certainly not for key-wielding juveniles."

Sora just gave him a withering glare in response, too angry to respond.

Diana, however, wasn't so restrained, as she confronted the Green Lantern. "We Amazons are warriors-born. Want to test me?"

John looked like he was about to take her up on it when Superman intervened.

"Let's not fight among ourselves," he advised, putting a hand on his shoulder. "John, we're going to need all the help we can get."

"Fine," John relented, albeit reluctantly. "Sorry…your Highness!"

"You arrogant, filthy freaks!"

The group faced Sora, whose rage-filled expression changed his entire look, as he walked to the ledge, facing the incoming black clouds.

"You parasites think that you can come to this planet, kill thousands of innocents, and claim it as your own!?"

Diana could sense something dark inside the boy that was beginning to grow, worrying her. His rage was justifiable, but there was something off about him. Not to mention that she saw flickers of purple coming off of him. Batman was even readying a batarang in case things got out of control.

 _Calm down, Sora._

Sora's eyes widened, recognizing the voice, and took several deep breaths. True, he was still angry, but he couldn't let it control his actions. Not with the fate of the world at stake. He turned to face the others, who were all looking pretty worried (whether for his safety or their own, he couldn't tell), and summoned his Keyblade with a determined look. "I'm in!"

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 **There you have it! The first chapter to my new story. Let's hope I don't write myself into a corner. I know how it will end, I know how most of it will go, but they will some murky parts to this story.**

 **If you're worried that Sora will become dark and brooding like a certain Kingdom Hearts protagonist *cough Riku cough* don't be. I won't let that happen.**

 **Anyways, reviews are always welcome, positive and constructive.**

 **Next chapter: the team splits up as they each think about the new kid on the block.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Hope you guys were able to handle the wait. I gotta be honest, this chapter was difficult to write, but I don't think it's my worst chapter yet. Probably something I need to specify before you read this. Like Sora stated in the last chapter, he witnessed his Earth destroyed by the Heartless, so you can guarantee he suffered a lot of trauma from it. So, if Sora at times seems a little out of character in this chapter, that's why. You'll know it when you see it.**

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Chapter 2: The First Mission

"Why are you all looking at me as if I'm crazy?" Sora questioned, annoyed at the confused and suspicious looks he was getting from the group.

Hawkgirl was the first to answer, her tone as stern as his mother. "Do you honestly expect us to let a thirteen-year old-?"

"Fifteen!"

"Whatever. You expect us to let you help us fight back an alien invasion?"

"I do," he responded without hesitation.

John sighed, approaching him. "Look, kid, it takes guts to volunteer yourself like this, and I have to admit you have some skill, but you're going to get yourself killed. You'll end up more of a liability, and that's something we don't need."

 _Oh, you did not just go there._ Sora took a deep breath, deciding not to lose his temper against the military man. "A liability? Tell me, Green Lantern, when was the last time you liberated worlds from parasites hell-bent on killing or infecting everybody? When was the last time you prevented a lunatic from destroying the universe? Read my mind if you want to verify the truth to my claims, J'onn!"

The Martian called his bluff and scanned his memories, the ones that he was allowed to see anyways, and staggered back a little bit in shock once he was done. "He is telling the truth. This boy has faced many enemies and has survived times where others would have fallen."

"That makes for quite the résumé," Flash stated with a grin. "I say we keep him."

"Thank you," Sora said gratefully before returning his gaze to the team. "I know that I'm a wild card to you guys. After all, I appeared out of nowhere, suffered a panic attack, and almost lost my cool a few seconds ago, but I am far from helpless. The only thing I need is transportation. Besides, this gives you people the chance to keep an eye on me and check if I'm legit. And I promise to answer any questions you have once we get these aliens running for the hills."

Superman gave a reluctant sigh. "Fine. You are allowed to help us."

Sora grinned as if he just won the lottery. "So, where do we start?"

"Tactically, we'll have multiple objectives," John replied, "so we'll need to split into teams."

Instantly, Flash was by Diana's side, his hand around her shoulder. "Dibs on the Amazon!"

"Not gonna happen," John shot back, annoyed with the speedster's antics.

"I'll take the kid," Batman stated. "I can keep a close eye on him."

Sora was not looking forward to being interrogated by him on the ride over, but he couldn't be picky. "Fine."

The group split up into three teams: Superman and Hawkgirl would deal with the factory in Metropolis, Flash and Green Lantern would take care of the one on an island not too far away, and Batman, Diana, J'onn, and Sora would destroy the one in Egypt.

Sora had to admit that the Batwing, the ship Batman flew in since he couldn't fly, was really cool. Its sleek, black colors and how maneuverable it was made the teen want one of his own. Naturally, Batman told him not to touch anything, and he wasn't going to make the man who could put the fear of God in anyone mad. Sora knew that he would be the hardest to gain the trust of, so he hoped for a miracle.

"So, what's the plan?" he asked suddenly.

"We find a weakness in their forces and exploit it," Batman answered simply.

"And what do I have to do in order to gain your trust?" the teen continued.

"Stopping the invasion and not backstabbing us is a good start."

Sora sighed, realizing that small talk was getting him nowhere, so he settled for a different approach. "You know, it's gonna take a while before we reach Egypt. I can answer a few questions that you have."

"You said the Earth was destroyed eight months ago," Batman began instantly. "What happened?"

"This invasion that's happening right now? Imagine that only a million times worse. The entire planet being attacked by creatures who thrive on darkness, everyone screaming and dying all over the world, and there's nothing you can do about it but run. I don't know how long it took for them to destroy Earth, but it was much faster and more hopeless.

"Before you ask, no, I am not from the future. I'm not that lucky. There weren't any superheroes or alien invasions on the Earth I'm from. The only thing that makes sense is that I'm currently in a different dimension."

"How did you escape?"

"A teleportation spell," he answered. "I've only teleported a few times in my life, and the first time I did it was teleporting to a different planet. I used up so much power that was out for days. There's a lot more to the story, Batman, but I'm gonna stop here until the invasion has ended. That, and I need to get some rest."

Batman did have a lot of questions for the boy, but he decided that he could wait…for now, at least. "I'll wake you when we get there."

The rest of the flight was spent in silence as Sora dozed off, exhausted from all the energy he spent earlier. He needed to bring his A-game for the upcoming fight if he wanted to survive. He could worry about the group being suspicious of him once everything was over.

 _I'm not gonna lose this Earth too._ He promised before falling into slumber.

* * *

(Egypt; 3 hours later)

"Get up! We're here!"

Sora's eyes popped open instantly, groaning a bit. The one time he had a dreamless sleep was during an alien invasion and when he could only get so little of it. Go figure.

A quick look outside showed him that the factory was set up right next to a Sphinx and that it was being guarded by several walkers, which were three-legged abominations that had inflated heads. Just looking at them made him feel a little queasy. One positive was that there was some sunlight still left, though given how fast the black smoke was billowing, it wouldn't be long before Egypt was blanketed as well. Still, it helped having an Amazon warrior and a Martian on their side.

"I don't suppose your ship has weapons strong enough to destroy the factory, does it?" Sora hoped.

"I couldn't take out the walkers with them," Batman explained. "We'll need to find a different approach."

Once Batman landed the Batwing out of sight and stepped out, he addressed the three. "J'onn, see if there's an opening in the factory we can get into. Sora, Diana, with me and stay out of sight!"

Judging by the look on her face, Diana wasn't thrilled at taking orders from Batman. Whether it was because she was a Princess or that a man was ordering her around was anyone's guess. Fortunately for them, she decided to follow his lead.

After J'onn phased into the ground, the trio spent the next fifteen minutes dodging the walkers and getting close to the factory. They didn't have to worry about being heard with the sounds of the walkers patrolling and the factory making a lot of racket. They just needed to avoid getting spotted. Given how Batman moved and how he was dressed, not getting spotted seemed to be second-nature to him.

After hiding from a walker for the tenth time, Diana made her displeasure known. "Hiding like cowards is not the Amazon way!"

"So the Amazons trained you to fight aliens the size of buildings, then?" Sora questioned, not paying attention to the glare he was given by the Amazon. "Didn't think so."

"Should I assume _you_ have been trained for this?" she shot back with a sarcastic tone.

"Well, my trainers were a temperamental duck and a clumsy dog, so the answer's no." He kept a straight face when Diana gave him a dumbfounded expression and Batman just raised an eyebrow. "Hey, give me some credit. He was a magical duck."

Batman decided not to call the nearest mental hospital to dump Sora in at this time and continued spying on the walkers. "They must have a weakness. When we find it, we'll strike."

"I'm thinking the legs," Sora suggested, pointing at them. "A strong enough cable wrapped around them would—WHOA!"

The teen leapt back in surprise as J'onn rose out of the ground, partially visible.

"Relax!" Batman ordered.

"Right, sorry," he replied, trying to calm his nerves.

"I have scouted the outer walls," J'onn announced, becoming fully visible. "There are no openings."

Diana finally had enough. "Then we'll make our own!" She took to the skies, charging at the nearest walker.

J'onn tried to go after her, but Batman stopped him.

"Wait! Let's see what she can do," he said.

The walker tried to shoot her down, but Diana was too fast for it. Bringing out a lasso, she wrapped it around one of its legs.

"There's no way that rope will hold," Sora said, flabbergasted at what the Amazon was doing.

Once the rope was secure, Diana flew around the walker, the rope wrapping around all three of its legs.

"Hera, give me strength!" she called out, pulling the rope as hard she could.

The walker's legs were tightened together, and it could do nothing as it fell to the ground. The head of the thing crashed into the factory, causing a giant hole in the building.

"There's your opening!" Diana exclaimed, flying inside.

"I stand corrected," Sora admitted, charging towards the building.

"Not bad," Batman agreed, firing his grapple hook while J'onn flew behind them.

Once they were all inside, Sora finally got a look at the aliens that were responsible for the invasion.

These humanoid aliens were white with several holes in their bodies. The best way he could describe them was that they were like walking spider webs. These aliens only had one eye, but that's all they needed.

Diana and Sora deflected the lasers that came their way, driving the creatures back in different directions. Sora, however, noticed one of them avoid the light as much as possible before continuing to run deeper into the factory.

"They run like cowards!" she exclaimed angrily before running after them. "What are you waiting for?"

J'onn followed close behind, but Batman took a moment to look at the sun outside, remembering how the aliens did their best to stay away from its light.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Sora asked, coming to the same conclusion.

Nodding, Batman followed the others with Sora bringing up the rear.

The two found Diana and J'onn pinned down by several aliens, Diana deflecting more shots that were aimed at them. Since there were more of these creatures than before, she was forced to back up into cover.

"They've blocked us off again!" she announced when she noticed Batman and Sora.

"It's almost as if they know what we're thinking," Batman responded, readying one of his Batarangs.

"I'll handle this," Sora offered, launching several fireballs at them with his Keyblade.

Three of the aliens burst into flames, crying out in agony as they melted into disgusting, white mush. The survivors did the smart thing and fell back.

"Three down, a million more to go," the teen said, trying to get to rancid smell of dead aliens out of his nose.

"Any ideas, J'onn?" Batman asked, putting away his Batarang.

The Martian in question was motionless, his orange eyes pulsing and glowing.

"J'onn!"

The glow faded away, allowing J'onn to speak. "Superman and Hawkgirl are down. They have failed."

Sora's eyes widened in shock. "What!? They can't be dead!" _If the aliens can kill a man who's practically invincible, what chance do we have._

"Are you sure?" Diana questioned, equally surprised.

"I can sense it," was his stoic response and turned to Sora. "They are still alive."

The teen breathed a sigh of relief.

Unfortunately, they couldn't dawdle, as J'onn led them south of their position. "This way! Hurry!"

For a brief moment, Sora was confused as to why they were running until several aliens entered through a door behind them and opened fire. The four of them evaded the lasers, several nearly hitting them, and came to a stop at an intersection. Specifically, Batman and Sora came to a halt while J'onn and Diana flew into a hole directly above them.

"Go!" Sora ordered, deflecting several shots. "I'll cover you!"

Nodding, Batman fired his grappling hook and managed to pull himself into the hole. Once he was in the clear, Sora followed suite by using Wind to propel himself into the air backwards. He was not about to show his back to guys with guns. Once he joined the others, they resumed fleeing until they turned a couple of corners and the sounds of lasers weren't nearby

"We lost them!" Diana announced, checking behind them from a safe position.

"For the moment," Batman added, attaching to his fist that Sora could only describe as a brass knuckle if it was made of metal and electric.

To Sora's surprise, the Amazon faced him with a glare. "Why did you not destroy the creatures with your magic? You were capable of doing it before."

"I'm conserving my energy," he explained, brushing the sweat from his forehead. "I'm not back at full strength, and I don't think I will be until the invasion has been stopped. For all we know, there could be an endless swarm of these things, or giants like the walkers outside. I need to make sure I'll have enough magic to help you all through this."

"You may have to start using it," J'onn warned, pointing ahead. "Look."

The area they were in was the biggest room in the factory so far. Amidst the walkways and aliens, there were about 30 in this room alone, in the center was a red rock contained in a red sphere.

"It's the central core," J'onn pointed out.

"And a lot of baddies guarding it," Sora added. "This isn't going to be easy."

"Did you expect things to?" Diana wondered, confused.

"No, I didn't. In fact, I have no idea why people even say that."

Batman got right to the point. "How can we shut it down?"

"The ion matrix crystal," the Martian replied, indicating the rock. "If we can remove that, we'll shut down the whole plant."

"I can destroy it from here," Sora offered.

J'onn shook his head. "While that is the simplest solution, you might cause a chain reaction and destroy this factory with all of us inside. We can't take that risk. I'll need a diversion."

"You've got it," Batman said, tossing a Batarang right at a pipe directly above two aliens at a console.

It was sharp enough to sever it and cause black slime to bury the aliens alive. Diana grabbed the pipe nearest to her and yank it out. The gas that poured blinded several more of the creatures, but Sora had a different approach. He fired several electric bolts at the consoles, making them explode and sending the aliens flying. Once J'onn phased into the ground, the survivors started shooting at them, prompting Diana to use her bracelets again. Batman leaped off the ledge and glided towards a nearby alien, smashing him with the electric fist, but several more flanked his position.

"Say, if I jump down to give Batman a hand, are you gonna be okay?" Sora asked Diana, finally deflecting a shot back at one of the aliens, taking his head clean off.

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to ask. "I am a Princess of the Amazons, boy. Do you think me a damsel in-?"

"A simple no would've been fine," he interrupted, jumping off the ledge into a swarm of aliens. "What's up?"

The aliens tried to shoot him, but the teen was faster than they anticipated. With several quick slashes from his trusty Keyblade, he downed three of them and kicked away a fourth one. He was about to go after more, but something grabbed his leg and tripped him. To his horror, the aliens had regenerated from his attacks and were forming back into the humanoid shapes they were before.

"Not good," he groaned, readying himself for Round 2.

The distraction paid off, though, as J'onn appeared in front of the crystal. After tossing one of the creatures off the walkway, he phased his arms through the sphere and pulled the object out. Without the power source, the factory started to shut down, much to their relief. Suddenly, a stray shot hit J'onn in the back, making him fall to the ground.

"J'onn!" Diana exclaimed, knocking two aliens away and flying straight through another to reach the Martian.

"Get him out, now!" Batman demanded, tossing one of the aliens into another. "Sora, cover them!"

"What about you?" Sora asked, blowing several aliens away with Wind.

"I'll be fine! GO!"

Begrudgingly, Sora followed Diana, who was carrying an unconscious J'onn, towards an exit that was beginning to close thanks to the aliens. Batman was right behind them with the crystal in his arm. Easily, Diana made it through and Sora managed to leap through the small hole that the door became. Batman, however, was not so lucky, for the door completely closed after the teen made it through.

"Batman!" Sora shouted, hearing him try to get through. "Don't worry. We're gonna get you-!"

He was interrupted by several lasers opening fire for a moment before stopping.

"No!" Diana exclaimed, horrified at what just happened.

Sora was not about to call it quits, pointing the Keyblade at the door. "I'm going to get this door open. Be prepared for a full-on assault!"

"Stop!" J'onn, who just regained consciousness, stated. "There's nothing more we can do for him."

Sora slowly turned to face him. "What did you say?"

Diana was hesitant when she spoke again. "You don't mean he's…"

The Martian bowed his head. "Gone."

She was silent for a moment, bowing her head. "Hera, help us."

Sora wanted to argue, to say that there was still a chance they could save Batman, but J'onn was the only one who could say that for certain because of his powers. It took everything he had not to fall to his knees in response. He and Batman may not have been friends, but he still considered him to be a good ally.

"Sora?" Diana asked, concerned for his well-being.

Taking a deep breath and shelving his emotions for a while, he quickly got back to his feet. "Let's get out of here."

As J'onn led the two out, Sora hoped that he wouldn't suffer another breakdown. One was more than enough. Another one would just make him a liability, like Lantern suggested would happen. However, if the aliens weren't stopped, his breakdowns would be the least of his problems.

* * *

(Metropolis; Three hours later)

Being carried back to Metropolis was in the running for the most humiliating experience of his life, and by J'onn no less. Then again, being carried by Diana wouldn't have made the experience less awkward, so there was no lesser of the two evils. He could take comfort in the fact that no one he knew witnessed the event. He would never hear the end of it if they knew.

Sora would've picked feeling like that for the rest of his life instead of feeling the despair he felt now.

Currently, the trio were standing on top of a building watching the city of Metropolis descend into hell. Several building had been destroyed by the walkers and there were bodies lying in the streets courtesy of the walkers and the destroyed buildings. Those that weren't running and screaming from the aliens or crying over their dead loved ones were busy looting stores in a last ditch effort to get something out of their lives.

This was an all too familiar scene to him, and it was taking him back to the darkest moment of his life. The flames, the screaming, the dying, the darkness-!

"Perhaps mother was right about mankind," Diana said, disappointed in their actions. "They're nothing but untamed savages."

Sora slowly turned to face her, a look of anger and disbelief on his face. "Oh, they're savages, all right. Just take a look at those savages running for their lives. And over to your left, a savage trying break into an empty car to get his family safety!" At this point, he was shouting and getting closer to Diana, who was more than prepared to fight back in case he threw the first punch. "OR HOW ABOUT THE UNTAMED SAVAGES WHO LOST EVERYONE THEY CARE ABOUT!? ARE THEY NOT WORTHY IN YOUR EYES!? ARE THEY!?"

Quickly, J'onn restrained and pulled back Sora before he could do something stupid, not that he could actually hurt Diana. "Enough, Sora! Stand down! This will only make matters worse!"

Sora finally broke. He stopped trying to break free and began to sob. He couldn't stand watching this, going through this again. At this point, he probably looked pathetic and pitiful, but he could care less. It was too much for him to take.

Diana's expression fell when she realized the full extent of her harmful words. In her carelessness, the fact that Sora witnessed a different Earth destroyed, probably in a similar manner given his reaction, slipped her mind. It had been a long time since she had seen great sorrow and anguish, but she never expected to see it on a man. Just watching him weep made her feel utterly terrible.

Sensing that he wasn't going to attempt to strike Diana, J'onn released Sora, who promptly fell to his knees and buried his face in his hands. Cautiously, Diana knelt down to his level and surprised both herself and Sora by embracing him.

"I'm so sorry, Sora," she said softly, channeling what her mother would do to her in times like this.

"I can't do this again, Diana," he confessed, sobbing into her shoulder. "It hurts so much."

"Just let it out," she replied. "It's going to be all right."

"I could've saved him," Sora added. "He didn't have to die."

No one needed to ask who "him" was.

"I know what it is like to lose everything and everyone you hold dear, Sora," J'onn spoke solemnly. "I know what it is like to give in to despair and believe that hope is only meant to be crushed. Until the day I die, I will grieve for all the lives lost on Mars, but I cannot allow the grief to consume me just as you cannot be consumed by yours."

"What happened to Batman wasn't your fault," Diana added. "There was nothing we could have done to save him. You can't blame yourself for something you didn't do. Can you do that for me?"

Hesitantly, Sora nodded, taking a moment to brush his face off. "I've been here less than a day, and already, I'm like this. I look pathetic, don't I?"

Diana firmly shook her head. "Listen to me. There's no shame for what you are going through and I will be damned before I would call you pathetic." She looked at him in the eyes. "If you can't continue because of this, we won't judge you badly for it."

It was so tempting to call it quits, and he almost did.

"Hey! There's kids trapped under here! Someone give us a hand!"

The three spotted two men trying to lift a giant piece of debris with no avail. Even their calls for help seemed to go unnoticed.

Suddenly, a familiar green light surrounded the debris and pulled it away. Green Lantern had returned.

Miraculously, the two children underneath were unhurt. They managed to wedge themselves inside of a broken wall to avoid getting crushed.

"Thanks, man!" the men exclaimed, getting the kids to safety.

Nodding, John flew up to the building the trio were on with Flash right behind him. Quickly, Sora and Diana got back to their feet, the former brushing off any evidence that he had been crying.

"Sorry we're late," John said. "Had to stop and help some civilians." He looked at Sora for a moment. "Hey, you all right, kid?"

"Trying to be," he admitted. "It's just…hard watching all this."

"You've been a trooper for sticking out this long," John complemented. "Even after what you've been through."

 _That settles it. I'm not gonna quit now._ "Thanks."

"What'd you call us back for?" Flash asked.

"Superman's been captured," Diana explained, pointing to the factory. "He's trapped somewhere inside there with Hawkgirl."

It was then John realized someone was missing. "And what about Batman?"

This time, J'onn answered him. "He acted heroically…to the very end."

Flash was shocked after hearing that. "The Bat's gone?"

"He was a true warrior," Diana said meaningfully.

John clenched his fists, angered at the loss of his friend. "This is not good. Definitely not good."

"Batman died destroying the factory," Sora informed them. "Let's go make sure his sacrifice wasn't in vain."

Like the last time, the group drew closer to the factory, but kept out of sight so that the walkers wouldn't find them. There was only one walker guarding the factory this time, so getting in would be a little easier.

"I can't believe we're doing this again," Flash said.

"If Superman and Hawkgirl are in there, someone's gotta rescue them," Green Lantern retorted before turning to J'onn. "You _are_ sure they're still in there, aren't you?"

Once again, the Martian didn't speak, his eyes glowing.

"J'onn?"

"Yes," he confirmed. "Your friends are alive, but we must act quickly. The Imperium is coming."

"The who?" Flash asked.

"The supreme intelligence that controls these invaders," J'onn explained. "We have met before."

Sora gulped. "That doesn't sound good." _Although if we take this Imperium out, we might be able to stop the invasion for good._

"Can we trust this space case?" Flash whispered to John.

"What choice do we have?" he whispered back before speaking in a normal volume to address the group. "Okay, we're going in. Flash, Sora, create a diversion. Diana, watch my back."

"You want to rely on an amateur?" Diana teased.

John chose not to respond. "Let's move!"

Green Lantern, J'onn, and Diana took the skies while Flash sped past the walker in a blur of red. Sora followed him before crouching behind a car. He was going to wait for the opportune moment. Flash decided to throw a piece of rock at the walker to get its attention. The rock did no damage to the creature, though it did turn to face the speedster.

"Tag, you're it!" he taunted, blowing a raspberry at the thing.

The walker fired several lasers at Flash, who was far too fast for the thing. The explosions created a lot of smoke that billowed around the area, giving Sora the moment he was waiting for. He charged at the walker and used Wind to propel himself into the air. Once he was high enough, he slashed his Keyblade as hard as he could, severing its leg completely off. The walker tried to move again, but without the third leg to balance itself, it stumbled and crashed to the ground. To his surprise, the head exploded, prompting Sora to dodge its flying remains.

"Nice work, kid," Flash complemented.

"These things are weaker than I thought," Sora replied, wiping the blood off his blade.

Suddenly, he swept the teen off his feet and held him bridal style. "The others are inside already, so hang on!"

"Wait, WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-!?"

Sora's screams faded away as Flash sped towards the factory. There was already a hole in the wall thanks to Superman and Hawkgirl, but he had to run up the wall to get in, much to Sora's growing discomfort. Once they were inside, though, they instantly ran into the others, forcing the speedster to slow to a walk.

"Hope we didn't keep you," Flash said as he put Sora down.

"Warn me next time!" he moaned, feeling like he was about to crash high speed into a wall at any second.

Before any of them could respond, they heard the sounds of the aliens communicating with each other up ahead. Hiding behind a wall, J'onn spotted two creatures being the source of the noises.

"Wait here," J'onn said, transforming into one of the aliens before approaching them.

While none of them could understand what they were saying, it was clear J'onn was luring the aliens to them, so they could quickly take them out. The aliens took the bait, rounding the corner and aiming their guns at the team. What no one counted on was for J'onn, who returned to his normal form, to appear from behind and phase his hands right through the aliens' chests. The two bodies collapsed, either unconscious or dead.

"Come!" the Martian said, leading them through the factory.

"Is it just me or does he creep you out too?" Flash asked, unnerved by what he just witnessed.

"Just be glad he's on our side," Sora advised, equally nervous to be around J'onn.

For a while, the group continued to trudge through the factory, keeping an eye out for Superman, Hawkgirl, or the aliens. What several of them noticed was the lack of guards in the area, worrying them. They had a feeling that they were walking into a trap, but Superman and Hawkgirl's safety depended on them. They would deal with the traps when they came.

"We are close now," J'onn announced.

The group followed the path there were on to a door that was sealed.

 _And behind door number 1…_ Sora thought to himself.

"I sense they are somewhere beyond these walls," the Martian stated after putting a hand on the door.

Diana attempted to push the door open, but it wouldn't budge in the slightest.

"It's no use," she said.

Sora grinned, stepping next to her. "I've got this."

The teen pointed the Keyblade at the door, making the tip glow. A beam of light shot in the center of door and caused the locks to disengage. In a matter of seconds, the door slid open.

"Ta da!" He noticed Flash and Green Lantern giving him surprised looks. "It's called a Keyblade for a reason."

"You're full of surprises, Sora," Diana replied. "Perhaps that magic duck provided you with greater skill than I believed."

"What magic duck?" John asked, legitimately confused.

The teen smirked. "I'll let you keep guessing for a while."

"Great Hera!" Diana exclaimed suddenly.

Inside the door were Superman and Hawkgirl suspended upside down, the latter groaning as she slowly was regaining consciousness. The team moved in to release them, except for J'onn, who found this situation too suspicious.

"Wait!" he warned. "Something is not right!"

Once they were close enough, the eyes of the captured heroes opened, but they were dark red.

"Holy crap!" Sora swore, stumbling backwards in horror.

To make matters worse, the door closed behind them, sealing them in.

"It's a trap!" John announced.

All around them, the walls opened up, allowing yellow smoke to billow in the room. In an instant, the majority of the heroes were coughing and gaging, feeling like they were drowning in their own fluids. One by one, they passed out, unable to stop the smoke.

 _This really sucks._ Sora thought before he joined them in the world of unconsciousness.

* * *

 **Oh, I do enjoy leaving you with cliffhangers sometimes. I hope this chapter was enjoyable and worth the wait. Review and critique please.**

 **I've also set up a poll regarding War World. The question is whether Sora should be the one captured, or Superman. The poll will end when I reach that episode, but it's gonna be a while.**

 **Next chapter: A climax and a backstory.**


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